Also, the endorsement does not appear, at least yet, to have had
an overly energizing effect on Obama's Democratic
base, with only 24 percent more likely to vote for him.
Republicans showed a more passionate response, with 52 percent
saying they would be less likely to vote for him.

Overall, though, gay marriage does not figure to be a major issue
in the election, with 60 percent of those polled saying it would
have no effect on their vote.

The poll does show, however, that 51 percent overall do approve
of his endorsement. That runs in line with the 50 percent that
said they supported it in the Gallup poll this week.

Gallup

Obama's endorsement did not come without political risk,
especially in key swing states and key demographics that
propelled him to win the 2008 election.

One school of thought on the issue suggests that it would be
politically popular for Obama to make the move because of the
national trend upward. The argument against that is that gay
marriage bans have passed in 30 states on ballot referendums,
including in North Carolina on Tuesday.

"It takes a tremendous amount of courage to do that following a
huge loss in North Carolina," Fred Karger, the gay Republican
presidential candidate, told Business Insider on Wednesday. "And I
know they're doing a lot of internal polling looking at Ohio,
Florida, New Mexico. This is a still a very controversial issue.

"But that's what a president does. That's why we elect a
president: for bold leadership."